Rob

I must hate myself, as I'm listening to Goldstein on Kaplan's show.

Lake had another nice day. Doubled in a couple runs, drew a walk, stole a base. A strikeout and and two other outs, but still... not a bad day.

Any links or examples? That could be fun to read. Yeah, I'd like to read that too.

Ignoring the petty sarcasm, they're too old for their leagues, lack any secondary skills or defensive value, and only had acceptable slash stats because their BABIPs were each around .370 for the year (which is not repeatable for Ichiro Suzuki, let alone these two). Their batting averages will probably fall by about .50 points next year (conservatively), and their OBP and SLUG will fall with it. For heaven's sake, Rohan is 25 and spent most of the year in low A. I'm sorry. They may be perfectly nice guys and maybe there's a future in coaching in the organization for these guys. Jones might actually have enough power to play in Japan. But these aren't big league caliber hitters. I know you get close to some of them, but they can't all be the best at what they do. And for the record, rereading my original post I came across as a bit harsh to you. I'd like to apologize on a personal level for that. I'm sorry.

Somebody doesnt understand that "how valuable is Theo Epstein to the Cubs?" and "how much do the Red Sox need to get to make trading Epstein a good idea for them?" are not the same question. Or Hollandsworths mug is a troll account. Could be that too.

How do I put this delicately... drawing a blank. Put it any way you want. I don't have to win. I just posted that. Just don't violate your own rules like you just did. If you think McNutt or any minor leaguer is more important to the Cubs than Theo, I don't know what to tell you. Someone posted earlier that, that's not the equation. Ok, what is? What is Theo worth to the Cubs? It doesn't matter what is going on in Boston. The Cubs are either going to get him or they are not. Some people act like asking for compensation is beyond the bounds of sanity. It's not. I think he's hitting on the whole "22 year old starter with great stuff in AA is not a good bet to ever make it to the big leagues" part of your post. McNutt will be a big leaguer to some extent. It may not be as more than a pen arm, but the odds that he doesn't spend some time in the bigs are about as low as it gets for any player in the minors.

How do I put this delicately... drawing a blank. That's because there's no delicate way to say how stupid that opinion is.

I know that with nothing going on today they could announce a deal, but I'd be shocked to hear anything substantial before tomorrow. That was the day that everybody was probably aiming for anyways. It's unrealistic to expect them to move their schedules up a day just because there's no games today.

If it literally would allow Theo to pilfer whatever 5 or 6 guys he wants, sure. I think that'd be a great help to him. Otherwise, no way in hell. Yeah, bringing along important guys from the front office obviously changes the equation. But if the Red Sox are sticking to their guns with zero guys coming with, we shouldn't send a McNutt back.

Would it break my heart to give up McNutt for Theo? No. Is there any reason we should have to give up McNutt? Also no. Trading McNutt for Theo is like giving Glendon Rusch 2 years and 5 mil. We could get him for a lot less, so why nickel and dime ourselves to death?

Who are you referring to, exactly? Good runners are a plus. Bad runners who are on base are also a plus. [expletive] that. I want eight guys that hit like first basemen. OBP is more important than speed at the top of the lineup. Even power is more important than speed. Interestingly enough, the lower you get in a lineup the more valuable speed is. It's kinda wasted at the top. Statistically speaking, most teams would be best served to take their "contact guy" in the 2 hole, move him to the bottom of the lineup, and move everybody else up a spot. Darwin Barneys bat 8 in a good lineup, not 2nd. Neither one is much more than an organizational solider. If they're being squeezed by actual prospects, cut them. Everything else you said was either blindingly obvious ("rarely does any player have it all") or completely nonsensical.

I give TT one more week until he's championing LaHair for Opening Day 1B.

So how many active mods are we down to at this point?

Who is tweeting what now?

Boobs

We should definitely have t-shirts made. We just need a catchy slogan.

Look at me! I'm Raisin! 10/15: Mesa wins 14-3 Box Score SS J. Lake 3/5, 3 R, HR (3), 4 RBI, K, SB (7) 3B DJ LeMahieu 3/5, R, 2 RBI, K, 2 SB (5) RP C Carpenter 1.2 IP, H, 0 BB, 5 K Great day in Arizona. Lake's batting average is up to .333 and his OPS is up to 1.039, while leading the league with 7 SB.

Yeah, Javier Baez would be a great trade target for the Red Sox... if he were eligible to be traded yet. Derp. Looking at that list, while I don't think we should have to, I'd be willing send them any two of Castillo, Rusin, Coleman, Gonzalez, Watkins, Dolis, Cerda, Simpson, and J. Jackson. Maybe Flaherty or LeMahieu. Very torn on Rhee, Ha, Vitters, and Golden. Definite nos on Brett, Szczur, Wells, and McNutt. Just based on Boston's needs, I'd think Castillo, Watkins and Dolis would be an enticing package, along with some cash. All MLB ready and they have questions in the pen, at SS and behind the plate. Watkins is nowhere near MLB ready.

Wow, I did not realize they've got Gameday working for AFL games. Crazy. Anyway, LeMahieu and Lake have got a multi-hit game already and have a couple swipes each. Lake is actually leading the league in steals as of this moment.

Yeah, Javier Baez would be a great trade target for the Red Sox... if he were eligible to be traded yet. Derp. PTBNL! Woot! Can't even do that yet. I believe there's a six month window on naming PTBNL's.

NSBB is convinced that the Cubs have all the leverage, SOSH is convinced that the Red Sox have all of it. As of writing this very sentence, I honestly don't know where I stand on the issue. But I'm tired of wondering and figure my only real chance to figure it out is to consolidate the bargaining positions of each club. So I'm going to examine what each team has to gain and lose from a potential deal... as well as what they stand to gain and lose from this deal falling through. The Red Sox What the Red Sox stand to gain from dealing Theo Epstein: Money - Both from the Cubs and from getting out from under Theo's contract. I've seen differing reports on the contract, but most of them seem to agree that it will cost the Red Sox between $6mil and $7mil to keep Theo around between his salary and his conclusion bonus. Many Red Sox fans are willing to write this off, but I'm sure the Red Sox aren't. I'll touch on why in the next bullet point. Prospects - Both from the Cubs and from the $6mil to $7mil the Red Sox just freed up in their budget. That's enough for some huge overslots in the draft (enough to get better prospects than the Cubs can possibly offer). Employee morale & image - An employee was allowed to change organizations to pursue a promotion, Cherington gets promoted from within, and all is well. What the Red Sox stand to lose from dealing Theo Epstein: Theo Epstein himself - It sucks for them, but he's gone regardless after this season. Relationships were already strained enough he was willing to leave. Taking away the biggest payday of his life wont help matters. What the Red Sox stand to gain from this deal falling through: Theo Epstein - Just for one extra year What the Red Sox stand to lose from this deal falling through: Money - Both from the Cubs and honoring Theo's contract Prospects - Both from the Cubs and not having the leftover money from Theo's contract. Employee morale & image - Theo is around as a lame duck. Best case for the Red Sox, his contract allows him to be put aside twiddling this thumbs somewhere while Cherington takes over as GM. Worst case, he has to be retained as GM and the Red Sox run the risk of Cherington leaving for a GM job elsewhere at his first opportunity. Also, this course of action hurts hiring of potential young executives. The Cubs What the Cubs stand to gain from trading for Theo Epstein: Theo Epstein - Obviously their #1 choice. Public Relations - This move should help sell some tickets. What the Cubs stand to lose from trading for Theo Epstein: Money - And loads of it, at that. Prospects - Whoever in the system the Red Sox are demanding. Randy Bush - Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha What the Cubs stand to gain from this deal falling through: Money - More than enough to hire whoever else they'd like to have. Rick Hahn, Josh Byrnes, etc... Prospects - Keep the guys the Red Sox want. Plus, there's leftover money that would have gone to Epstein's contract and could be spent on prospects What the Cubs stand to lose from this deal falling through: Theo Epstein - Or more accurately, the gap from a Theo Epstein to a Rick Hahn type. For at most one year until Theo becomes available again. Public Relations - Not getting Theo would bite the Cubs in the ass a bit in the press, unless the Cubs made a bigger move (in terms of moves the public cares about) such as signing one of Pujols/Fielder, or bringing in Ryno as manager. Conclusion: Yeah, I don't even know why I had to bother typing that all out to see it. NSBB wins. Cubs have the leverage. There's a legit argument that the Cubs are better off if the deal falls through and they use the money on Rick Hahn and prospects. But the Red Sox take a hit if the deal falls through and there's no debating it. The inner Cubs fan in me that was freaking out about this is now much more calm. Anything more than a couple token minor league prospects or cash should only be available if Theo can bring guys over with him.

Well I'm paranoid at the things I said Wonderin what's the penalty from day to day, I'm hangin out partyin with girls that never die, you see I was pickin on the small fries, my campaign tellin lies Was just spreadin my love, didn't know my love was the one holdin the gun and the glove But it's all good as long as it's understand It's all together now, in the hooooooooooooood Ghetto superstar, that is what you are Comin from afar, reachin for the stars Run away with me, to another place We can rely on each other, uh-huh From one corner, to another, uh-huh

I don't know how he does it, but somehow Morse always manages to dodge the PED questions despite having been suspended for them in the past. Crazy.

Permanent. I feel like 2/3rds of the top 25 non-mod posters on NSBB would be disqualified if you counted temporary bans. Who among us hasn't enjoyed a temporary ban at some point in NSBB's history? :bye: Me. Keep the insults veiled and sarcastic and you're good. Or just be like me and suck at insulting people. I'm assuming that's the biggest reason for my lack of temp ban thus far. I just know imb is gonna do it better in an hour anyways. Kinda takes the fun out of even trying.